Eibich P, et al. - Experts analyzed the variation in the costs and quality of life (measured by EuroQoL-5 Dimensions (EQ-5D)) before and after total hip replacement (THR) and total knee replacement (TKR) based on age, gender and preoperative Oxford hip score (OHS) and Oxford knee score (OKS). Highest difference was reported between postoperative and preoperative EQ-5D utility for patients with preoperative OHS/OKS lower than 10. It was noted that postoperative EQ-5D utility appeared to be higher compared to the preoperative utility for all patients with OHS≤46 and those with OKS≤44. On the other hand, higher costs were discovered for patients with low preoperative OHS/OKS than those with high OHS/OKS. The inference drawn was that costs and quality of life associated with total joint replacement varied systematically with preoperative symptoms measured by OHS/OKS.